a christmas miracle

today i drove stick shift for the first time on real roads, from medford to lawrence: about 23 miles. i'm still getting the hang of the gas and clutch dance that starts groovin' at every stoplight and rotary. it was a somewhat stressful experience, but i was smiling as soon as i stepped out of the car, and stopped feeling shaky about ten minutes after we arrived. according to nate, i had the same expression on my face the entire time:

("hoooooooooooooly crap")